Hello, friends.
Hello, May!
Raise your hand if you can’t believe it’s already May. May makes me want to strip down to a bikini (or one piece bathing suit, rather!) and jump into crystal clear blue water. May also makes me want to go shopping for lots of summer clothes that I really don’t need.
Actually, since we’re talking about, last week I tweeted out about how I had the undeniable urge to go shopping. Someone responded to me by saying “every time I have that craving I throw money towards paying off my school loan”.
Genius.
But it didn’t happen. Instead I bought some ballet flats on sale and a pair of new ten dollar sunglasses because that’s how I roll.
I also bought this stuff:
Because I wanted to get healthy. And what’s healthier than bok choy, tofu and peanut butter????!
Noodle bowls make me feel healthy because they contain green things. Sometimes even, I’ll drink green tea while I eat the green things. But that doesn’t happen often so don’t get your panties tied up in a bunch.
The sauce is made from yummy things like peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce and red pepper flakes. It’s pretty addicting. I like to call dinners like this “girl food” because if were to give Adam a bowl of boy choy and tofu he would think I’m kidding or something.
It wouldn’t go over well.
But you know what I say in situations like that? More for me!
Peanut Soba Noodle Bowls
serves 4
Ingredients:
8 ounces soba or udon noodles
4 small bok choys, rinsed
2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
16 oz small diced extra firm tofu
1 T canola oil
for sauce:
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 T rice vinegar
1/3 cup tamari
1/3 cup warm water
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 knob ginger, grated (about 2 tablespoons)
minced fresh cilantro
Directions:
Cook the noodles in boiling salted water then drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blending until smooth, adding more warm water for a thinner sauce if desired.
Heat up a large skillet over medium high heat and heat up canola oil. Once the skillet is very hot, add the tofu pieces and sear on both sides for about four minutes, or until a nice golden crust has formed. Be careful not to stir the tofu around while cooking, just flip once and then remove from heat.
Add the tofu to the noodles along with the bell pepper slices. Bring another pot of water to a boil and quickly blanch the bok choy for about thirty seconds. Remove, squeeze away extra water and then roughly chop and add to the noodle mixture as well.
Divide noodles amongst four bowls and add about a tablespoon of dressing to each bowl. Top each bowl with fresh minced cilantro and serve.
Time:
30 minutes
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{ 70 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds delicious, Jenna!! I have been really craving a bowl made with buckwheat noodles and this looks like the perfect thing!
udon noodles kind of make my heart skip a beat with their fabulous texture…throw the peanut sauce in there and i’m weak in the knees! this sounds incredible!
I love this! Peanut Noodles are my favorite
Just my kind of recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Oooh yum! I love soba noodles. And shopping. In my opinion, we shouldn’t feel guilty about spending money on food (like one might feel after buying clothes or something) because a girl’s gotta eat, right?
Looooove noodle bowls and peanut sauce.
Healthy Nom!
I think if I put any more money towards my student loans, I’d be homeless.
sounds wonderful! Love all that cilantro!
This looks like just the thing to enjoy in this increasingly unbearably hot weather. I love all the pretty bright colors, and the addition of the red pepper flakes would make this perfect. YUM!
Peanut butter + noodles, yum!
Glad to see a peanut sauce recipe! I love ANYTHING with peanut in it, and this would make a nice variation to my usual tofu stir fry repertoire.
Ironically, I’m eating a plate of buckwheat soba right now! except it’s in stir-fry form. With coconut curry.
But this looks awesome, and now I know what to do with my leftover noodles.
Oooh, classic noodle dish!
I love peanut noodles!
And I love that idea of when you want to spend money to use it towards debt!
I was thinking the same thing…that truly is genius. Who said that?!
I like the sounds of this recipe. It looks fresh and tasty – I like.
I’m a sweet-tooth fanatic, and have lately resolved to “try” and eat more greens. I just bought my first fresh bunch of spinach EVER! Now I have to do something with it
amy*
I love these recipes because they are almost impossible to screw up:D I love the combination you have here, thanks for sharing!
OMG this looks SOOO good.
YUM. I make a dish really similar to this all the time because it’s so fast + easy + delicious! I usually just use whatever veggies I have on hand at the time, but I’ve never tried bok choy. Great addition!
I am definitely raising my hand! Seriously.. the fifth month of the year already! Ahhh time is flying
looks amazing! I need to make this!
I mostly love noodle dishes that include peanut butter. It means there’s a totally normal way to enjoy pb at breakfast, lunch AND dinner
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Hand is officially raised. I can’t believe it’s May!! Soba noodle dishes always sound so fresh and classy to me, perfect for summer. Plus, let’s be serious…what’s not to love when pb is involved?
I’m in love with anything that contains peanut butter. This is going on my (very long) To Make list. Thanks!
Mmm. If I were to give a bowl of bok choy and tofu to my boyfriend, he would love it! Especially with that sauce!
I’m still not a fan of tofu, but the rest of this looks great. I’m bookmarking it.
My kind of meal! I am going to make this soon!
I have that same urge! Ugh, it’s so weird how it comes at the most inconvenient times. It’s all about give and take, though, I guess!
http://goldhearted.etsy.com
You have some of the most creative recipes. This one looks exceptionally yummy!
I love dishes like this! I never feel like mine come out as well, so I will definitely be trying this recipe.
My boyfriend is actually really good at making peanut noodles, but yeah, I have to beg for them. He’s only likely to eat the tofu if it is fried. Which is, of course, delicious. But, I’m happy to have a ‘girl version’ at my disposal!
MM i love peanut sauce on thai/chinese food. I went to a sushi restaurant the other day and they had something called the Nutty Roll. As you can probably guess it was a combination of peanut butter and shrimp tempura topped with eel and avocado. its’ pretty un-friggin-believable!
one of my fav combos! I love your take on it. You are just so good to us!!
My hand is DEFINITELY in the air. Can’t believe it is MAY>!>!>! The good news: at least now I know what I am making for dinner tonight. I love peanut soba noodles. Thanks for the recipe.
Brian tolerated eating tofu and I think he actually enjoys it now. …last night he was helping me make a stir fry (recipe to come!) and as I was turning around, I saw him pop a peice of the cold, ‘raw’ tofu into his mouth. His face looked kinda scared and so I asked how it was and he said, ‘not as bad as I thought’. lol!! Love that guy.
Now that’s my kind of food! Seriously.
ahhh how I love cilantro. think about some scallions in this… just think about it
i just got my husband into tofu, i think its all about the texture. once it’s got a nice crispy coating, its perfect. this could easily become a staple in our house.
Jenna this looks so yummy… except for the cilantro! {Sorry cilantro lovers! Blame my genetics!} I have never cooked with tofu before — I’m kind of scared of it, but for meatless mondays it may be just the thing.
I always want to eat healthier when the weather starts getting warmer too!
I WISH I had the kind of self restraint to not indulge in occasional retail therapy, never mind being able to put that money towards loans. Amazing. Also amazing is that recipe, I can’t wait to try it – I loves me a good peanut sauce.
I’m in love with this recipe. I love anything with a peanut butter sauce so thank you for posting this!
Sounds like a great recipe…will add it to my must tries. I too can not believe its May, where has the time gone!?!
I love noodles. And have been wanting to try Soba noodles. Nothing more quick and comforting than noodles with veggies, chicken, marina sauce – and cheese
You knew that was going in there…double dose. Ugh 
Yeah, your totally a greens girl – your hiding behind the facade of cupcakes!
Yum, I love meals like this that “trick” me into eating more greens but also taste delicious. Now I have a craving for this!
I just love noodles and peanut sauce! Delish!
“I like to call dinners like this “girl food” because if were to give Adam a bowl of boy choy and tofu he would think I’m kidding or something”–
My husband would have thought the same thing 12 years ago. Fast forward to today..and he gets down on his knees and thanks me for changing his eating habits and helping him lose 50 lbs AND that our 4 yr old daughter loves peanut sauce baked tofu and kale salads. She’s 4
Great recipe Jenna…seriously…that is 100% my kinda food. I LOVE peanut sauce anything!
This sounds mighty good. Soba noodles are so tasty
looks fabulous! I love the cilantro, too, it’s my favorite summer herb!
Can’t wait to try this healthy recipe AND the healthy money quote!
Soba noodles are delicious and pretty healthy too!
I loooove the idea of mixing pasta with greens…it would minimize the carbs and get more greens in your diet. Totally great. Will be doing this more now!
Thank you Jenna! I love peanut noodles, it’s a “girl food” at my place too…sorry dear I guess you’ll have to make dinner for yourself tonight!
ooh, i’m going to have try this one too!
This noodle bowl looks delish! Love the flavors. This is light and perfect for spring. Yum as usual!
Oh my yum! I can’t wait to add this to my repertoire!
Soba noodles and peanut butter always create happiness in my mouth. I will definitely raise my hand to the shock of May.
Perfect timing! I was just about to search for a good noodle recipe and what’s better than pb! I’m going to replicate it but replace tofu with prawns
I made this recipe last night (and ate the rest for lunch today, ha) and, oh my, it was delicious. Even my husband, Mr. If It Doesn’t Have Meat It’s Not a Meal, loved it and has already asked when I will make it again. But my favorite thing about this recipe? I had nearly everything already in my pantry. I love it when that happens.
I want this like it’s nobody’s business. I’ve been thinking of peanut noodles all day, and here they are right in front of me. I don’t buy bok choy often for some reason, tomorrow will be the day, it’s going on the grocery list. this looks so delicious…I’m so in the mood to be healthy.
Just made this for the family. It turned out great! Unfortunately, I didn’t have my food processor handy as we are living in an apartment temporarily and it is packed in storage. I adapted by heating up the ingredients in a sauce pan and using sriracha instead of the red pepper flakes. Sooo good. I’ll be making this again soon!
I almost forgot to mention that I used diced pork loin instead of the tofu. (We had leftover pork loin from the weekend).
I am really late to this party, but I just came here to chime in that this recipe is ridiculously delicious. I am tofu-averse, so I made do without any protein, but I think this would be really good with chicken too. I made the sauce before I finished the rest of the dish, and I was going to say “it’s too salty, it’s too thin”….(probably a result of using regular soy sauce because I didn’t know what “tamari” was until 3 minutes ago)… but when I combined everything, it was still perfect. Cheap, fast, delicious, and healthy
Hi! Relatively new reader here. Just wanted you to know I made this tonight for dinner.. and it was divine. My husband, my 2 y/o and I enjoyed this so much. We love the combo of the peanut, ginger, and cilantro.. they all make for such fantastic flavour. It’s so addictive I am having my second bowl now. Guess tomorrow I must run.
Thank you for a brilliant recipe, I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Just made this for dinner tonight and it’s amazing! I added some garlic to the dressing and then threw everything together. I love it!
so glad you liked it, kelli!!
I made this last week and it was amazing. And so easy. I did not have bok choy but I did have a bag of pre-shredded napa cabbage, so used that instead and it worked out fine. I love your recipes!
I made this tonight and it was SO delicious. You have THE BEST recipes on your website: every single one is so unique and delicious! I can always count on you for a delicious meal! Thanks, Jenna!
Hey Jenna! This is a good recipe. D thought it was very tasty
We subbed peas for the bok choy because we couldn’t find it at the grocery store. Thanks for another easy and tasty recipe!
Absolutely delicious and perfect for a hot summer’s night. I agree on the addition of scallions, gave it another layer of flavor, as did a bit of tahini. This recipe is a keeper!!! Thank you.
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